New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Showing strong growth, the bilateral trade between India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries reached 162 billion dollars last year, the government has said.

The GCC now contributes 15 per cent of India's total trade and sectors like energy, defence, security and health are growing in the region, according to Aseem P. Mahajan, Joint Secretary (Gulf), Ministry of External Affairs.

At a FICCI event in the national capital, he said that while overall trade figures might fluctuate, India's exports to the GCC nations have shown "consistent growth".

According to him, the country exports various food processing, jewellery, synthetic fibres and yarns, textiles, pharmaceuticals and engineering goods, and chemical products to the GCC countries.

Mahajan emphasised that the cultural and bilateral relations between India and the Gulf countries are strong.

India’s economic linkages with the GCC have increased steadily, especially due to growth in oil imports. These have increased significantly in FY22 due to rising oil prices in the wake of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as well as due to the resumption of demand following the Covid-19 disruption.

As per the 2022 government data, GCC countries contribute almost 35 per cent of India’s oil imports and 70 per cent of gas imports. India’s overall crude oil imports from the GCC in 2021-22 were about $48 billion, while LNG and LPG imports in 2021-22 were about $21 billion.

Since FY2017-18, on a compounded annual growth rate basis, bilateral trade between India and the GCC has grown by 10.57 per cent.

In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. PM Modi held wide-ranging talks with the top leadership to take forward the bilateral strategic partnership.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the BAPS Mandir, the first Hindu temple in Abu Dhabi, and addressed the Indian diaspora.

The two countries are among each other’s top trading partners with a bilateral trade of about 85 billion dollars in 2022-23. The UAE is also among the top four investors in India in terms of foreign direct investments in 2022-23.

PM Modi also visited Qatar and held wide-ranging talks with the leadership, focusing on significantly expanding bilateral ties in areas of trade, energy, investment and new technology. Bilateral trade between India and Qatar currently stands at roughly 20 billion dollars.